A Crow's Place
by IceByrd67
Summary: In tradition of her family, Aly begins to hound her daughter, Junai to find her place in the world. Too bad the place Aly wants her to take isn’t what June wants. And too bad Aly never bothered to tell June the truth about her past.
1. Way Away

**Title:** A Crow's Place

**Author**: icebyrd67

**Rating**: PG for some violence and possibly language

**Disclaimer**: This story is based off of books written by Tamora Pierce, so people and places belong to her. The only things I own are June and the plot.

**Summary**: In tradition of her family, Aly begins to hound her daughter, Junai to find her place in the world. Too bad the place Aly wants her to take isn't what June wants. And too bad Aly never bothered to tell June the truth about her past.

**Chapter One: Way Away**

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It was dark and cold outside. Windy and stormy. Perfect weather conditions for pirate attacks or runaways. It would be difficult for anyone to be tracked in this mess, whether magic was used or not. That was what the girl was counting on. She took shallow breaths as she continued to run, glancing back behind her shoulder every so often to see if anyone followed her through the dim and dangerous shadows of the jungle.

No one.

She was hungry and tired, but it didn't matter. Soon she would be free.

Free of her life of responsibilities and sobriety. Never again would someone have the right to tell her what to wear, how to act, what to do, or who to marry. Why should she marry someone her parents happened to order her to marry? Her life was her own and hers free to choose her path in. No one could tell her who to be. If she could just make it to the river, there would be a boat waiting to take her inland and then a wagon to Galodon where she would board a ship and sail to Tortall, where she would no longer be a slave to the whims of others.

In the trees above her, something crackled, causing her to freeze in her tracks listening carefully to the different sounds of the jungle. She sharpened her Sight, a gift she inherited from her mother, to scan overhead. Had her father sent his people after her? Immediately she spotted three crows flying overhead, but none had markings she recognized. They weren't from Rajmuat or Tanair, but that didn't mean that they weren't Nawat's agents.

One crow squawked the sound for "all clear" and the group turned on the wind and flew away. Hopefully, the crows would report to Nawat that they had been unable to locate his daughter. Soon, her mother's agents would catch up, though. Especially if Ysul decided to take a part in the search for her. His magic was definitely better than hers. She wouldn't be able to detect his very well, where as her Gift would probably scream her location to him. She hadn't yet mastered the art of raka magic. She was better at the luarin magic.

Her mother, the Queen's spymaster, would set her people to sniff her out and bring her home; chained if they had to. That was why it was so important that she reach the river. She didn't want to go home anymore than she had wanted to run away in the first place, but things at home had gotten to be quite bad. Her mother's temper was running rampant more often and she was always after her to make something of herself.

Junai Crow definitely wanted to make something of herself. She wanted to be whatever made her the happiest. Instead, her mother, Alianne, called Aly for short, wanted June to be a proper Lady at Court. To be one of the Queen's Ladies and marry well. Perhaps well into the Tomang or Adona family. Either would have been sufficient. Unfortunately, June had no desire to be Countess Tomang or to be Druce Adona's third wife.

Aly hadn't accepted this as an answer. In her opinion, June was now seventeen and it was high time she was married off into a secure future. June was pretty enough and came from a good family in high standings with the Queen, even if her bloodline and nobility was only one generation old. She could marry as high as she wanted. In fact, Queen Dovasary had mentioned time and time again, if she had a son or a brother, she would ask that a match be made between June and him.

Luckily for June, the Queen had neither living brother or son of age for marriage, as her eldest son was only twelve. She did have a nephew eighteen years of age, but she doubted his mother would allow him to embark on the trip home to the Isles. Even then, June would have declined the match between herself and Duke Mequen, who had inherited the Balitang Duchy, even though he was a Hetnim.

June took a few minutes to catch her breath as she waited for the crows to get far away enough that she could run, making as much noise as she wanted without catching their attention again. Then she would be off again, to find her destiny.

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"Have we had any luck yet, Aly?" Queen Dove's worried voice cut into Aly's thoughts, shaking the woman out of her reverie. The woman turned and curtseyed to her Queen and sighed.

"Not yet. Nawat's had his flock-mates searching the skies and I've got my people on the ground. Taybur's even sent his people into the city, but no one has seen her. I'm worried for her. She's never been away from home more than a night or two. She's been gone for nearly a week now." Aly answered, rubbing her eyes. "I only wish I could do more with my Sight. I wish I could find her!"

"I know, Aly. I'm worried as well. That is my goddaughter who is missing. Hopefully Kyprioth looks over her." The younger woman looked up, as if addressing the God herself.

"Knowing him, he's probably the reason why she's gone in the first place." Aly snapped, angry that her patron god had done nothing to keep her only daughter from running away. If the god had heard her words, he chose a wise time to overlook them. "My Chain cannot even locate her. I have sent messages to all my links to tell my people to keep their eyes open for June. So far, no one has seen her. No one at all! How could a girl like Junai completely disappear?"

"She is your daughter, Aly." Dove answered dryly. "Not to mention the girl is more crow than she is human most of the time. You know she is. She is just as mischievous as those cousins of ours are. Those crows will get into anything. Where do you think she's going?" Aly shrugged, imitating her husband's crow shrug nearly perfectly.

"I am hoping she is going home to Tanair to Nawat's family." She shook her head, in slight despair. "I wish I had thought to have her keep a darking like I do Hiraos. At least I always know where my son is at all—" Aly cut her sentence short as the door to her office flew open followed by her husband, Duke Nawat and her chief Mage, Ysul. "What?"

"Ysul has found her. She is in Galodon." Nawat said excitedly, barely able to contain himself. He continued to bounce about, giving Aly a bit of a headache. "I shall fetch her and together we shall mob her as we do with chicks."

"Deras spotted her at the docks and reported to Atisa, who is there on official business—" meaning she was working on a lead for Aly. "And then reported to me. She did not have time to extract June before the ship sailed." Ysul added in sign language.

"Where was the ship bound?" Aly demanded, glaring at them as if it were their faults that June was not safe at home. "Tell me!"

"To Tortall." Nawat answered quietly. "To Pirate's Swoop." Aly gasped, finding herself suddenly faint and hard of breath. Nawat reached out to steady her, but she slapped his hand away. She quickly regained her composure and turned to Ysul.

"Ysul, a message to Pirate's Swoop now. Addressed to the Whisper Man. Warn him that my daughter comes his way and that he is to intercept and send her straight home or else." Aly glared at him until he nodded his understanding and left to deliver her message. "I swear, if he does not send her home safe, I shall hurt my father in many ways."

"George will keep her safe." Nawat hugged his wife and kissed her forehead softly. "Do not worry. Junai can take care of herself. She is your daughter, after all. She knows everything she needs to know to keep safe. Perhaps this is what she needed. After all, you did not find something for yourself until you came to the Copper Isles. "

"The difference was I was taken by pirates and sold here! She ran away!" Aly protested quite loudly, much like her own mother, Alanna the Lioness, the Tortallan King's Champion, always did. Aly was gaining as much of a reputation as her mother had for her short temper.

"As you were doing before the pirates nabbed you." Dove pointed out with a smile. She enjoyed outwitting her spymaster for a change. "Now, enough worrying about June. She can take care of herself. Come now. I need your help to prepare for Petranne's wedding. Petra is very insistent that the even be kept small and within the family. I need your people to find and gather our family. And that includes Vereyu this time, please. She missed the last family gathering. And what is this I hear about Isalena Obemaek and Ferdy wanting to marry? I thought that Count Tomang was going to wed the Lenin girl, Otariyu."

"I have my people looking into it, Your Majesty—" Aly immediately fell into her role as spymaster and completely forgot how angry she was.

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June stood on the deck, leaning slightly over the railing with the breeze blowing her long back hair away from her face. June had let her hair down as she used to back on Tanair, loose with a few scattered small braids with crow feathers, her own feathers, attached at the ends of the braids with wooden beads. She had even found the time to cut the front of her hair into a fringe framing her face. She resembled a raka Queen of old.

She wore a green sarong of the exact shade of her eyes that was wrapped around her body in such a way that accentuated her curves. On her feet, she wore well-worn leather boots that had seen better days. Her only jewelry was tiny pearl earbobs and an extremely gaudy necklace that her mother particularly hated. A smile decorated her face as she looked out across the ocean, speeding towards her freedom.

"Do ye like what you see?" The ship's captain came to stand beside her, watching her face with interest.

"I find the ocean to be very alluring. It is rare that I have the chance to fully appreciate it to this extent." She answered, continuing to look out over the ocean in the direction of the faint shadows of land. "Is that Tortall?"

"Aye." He answered, turning to look at the landmass as well.

"How soon do you expect to land? I am anxious to see Tortall. I have never been outside the Isles before. In fact, I have rarely been off of Kypriang Island, unless I was traveling to Lombyn or Tongkang. Even then I spent the majority of the time below deck."

"I expect we will reach Pirate's Swoop within the candlemark. The wind is good right now. It shouldn't be very long. If I may ask, what is it you wish to be in Tortall?"

"I haven't really decided yet. I just know that I want to be there. I don't want to be in the Isles anymore. I have lost my sense of security there. I suppose I shall find a position in some household and begin earning my keep. I've got some experience as a maid."

"Again, if I may, perhaps you would allow myself to help you in your quest for a position. I've done business with the Baron of Pirate's Swoop for many years now and I know him to be a fair master. Perhaps if I speak to him, he shall find you a position in his household."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly be beholden to you in such a way. You've already done so much for me already, sir. I couldn't ask you for that."

"Nonsense. I will not be leaving you to fend for yourself. Whatever would people say about me if they knew I left a young girl as yourself alone in a country completely foreign to you? If the Queen knew, she would skin be alive and feed me to those Rittevon—" he spat over the side of the railing to get rid of the bad taste that name left in his mouth. "—fish."

"Sir! Shall we begin moving into the port?" The man in the crow's nest of the mast called down to the captain.

"Yes. All men on deck. Prepare entry." He turned back to June. "I'll not heard another word about this. I shall speak to the Baron when we land. I expect him to be meeting me at the docks."

"I—" June started a little too late. The man was already moving away towards the captain's cabin.


	2. FlockMates

**Title**: A Crow's Place

**Author**: icebyrd67

**Rating**: PG for some violence and possibly language

**Disclaimer**: This story is based off of books written by Tamora Pierce, so people and places belong to her. The only things I own are June and the plot.

**Summary**: In tradition of her family, Aly begins to hound her daughter, Junai to find her place in the world. Too bad the place Aly wants her to take isn't what June wants. And too bad Aly never bothered to tell June the truth about her past.

**Chapter Two: Flockmates**

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"Where is she?" Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop muttered to Captain Jonis as they watched the men unload the cargo hold of the ship. His eyes scanned the entirety of the vessel in hopes of catching his first glimpse of his eldest granddaughter.

"On board. I told her to remain below deck until I smoothed things out and found her a place in your household." The man answered his master. Jonis was one of the Whisper Man's.

"Good. I've sent a message along to Aly about allowing her to stay a while. It'll do the girl a bit of good. Bring the girl into my home. I'll place her with the serving girls. I'd like to have her somewhere where I can keep an eye on her at all times. It wouldn't do to have her run off like Aly did. Her mother and my wife would both skin me alive." George sighed. He could already tell that his eldest granddaughter would be a handful. Why did the girl have to resemble her mother so much? Why did he have to resemble her grandmother so much? Why were the women in his family such a handful?

"Very well. I'll bring her out. Give me a moment, sir." The man bowed to the noble and turned to board his ship. "Milady?" He called, heading below deck to find June.

"Yes?" She sat up straight, staring at the man. "Have you spoken to the Baron? What did he say? Will he take me on?" Her hands shook in her anxiousness, something that wasn't particularly good for an aspiring spy like herself.

"Yes, the Baron will take you. Come along. Bring your things. I am to bring you to the Baron. Now, he likes to be called 'sir', not Lord. And remember that his wife has a sharp tongue, that Lioness does."

"THE Lioness?" She asked excitedly. She hadn't known that she would be meeting a legend. If she had, she probably would have prepared herself a little better. Instead, she was a nervous wreck. What if they saw right through her and realized she really wasn't a common-born girl? She had heard that the Lioness had the Gift and was quite adept at her control.

"Yes, THE Lioness. Not to worry, lass. The woman is a fine one. She isn't nearly as bad as they make her to be. Not as bad at the Queen's Spymaster, anyhow." June rolled her eyes at the mention of her mother. Of course the man didn't know of the connection between herself and the Queen's Spymaster, but that didn't matter to June.

"Well, I hope not." June smiled, following the man off the ship, smoothing her hair as she did so. If she had only thought to do something with her tangled mass of hair. She wasn't exactly the most presentable, considering she spent a few weeks on a ship with nowhere to take a proper bath. She had scrubbed off with some wet rags and a basin of hot water, but it wasn't anything near the same as a proper hot bath in a tub.

"Sir, may I introduce Junai Dodeka?" Jonis used the surname that June had provided. The name belongs to an old friend of her mother. In fact, it was the name of the woman June was named for. According to her mother and the Queen, Junai Dodeka had died in the war for the Queen's Throne. She was supposed to be a great friend of her mother's and the daughter and granddaughter of the Strong One and the Wise One. She was a legend among both the raka and the luarin. She was supposed to be one of the Queen's strongest supporters in the Rebellion. June was constantly reminded how lucky she was to have the name of such a strong woman. Sometimes, June wanted to change her name to get away from such a horrible fate to live up to.

"My lord." June murmured, dropping into a curtsey. George smiled, pulling her to her feet and taking her things.

"Please, my dear. Call me George or sir if you cannot bring yourself to that. Come. You are part of my household now. I suppose you shall want to know the terms of your employment. You are to have a day off every sevensdays. You will be paid ten gold nobles a sevensdays. And you shall be given room and board as well as a drawing of clothing. And of course, as the laws decree, learning to the best of your ability." George explained as he led her towards the castle. "Do you think you can handle that, my dear?"

"Yes sir!" June answered enthusiastically. She hadn't expected things to be so easy for her in Tortall. In fact, she had expected it to be more like home where females were interrogated for everything, no matter how innocent the matter. And she hadn't expected the pay to be so well. She liked this Baron George. He was a nice man and something about him reminded her of her mother. In a good way, of course.

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June grinned, watching the crows flying outside her window. She loved waking up every morning to the raunchy boisterous cawing of the crows. It reminded her a lot of home at Tanair where she spent most of her summers. It was nice to have her people around, even though she had not yet introduced herself to them. A part of her was still afraid that one of them would find a way to report to her father, even though it had been weeks and she hadn't be contacted by anyone.

She was a little surprised that the crows hadn't greeted her as one of their own yet, but that could have been because she was half-human and they didn't recognize the human side of her. One day soon she would find the courage to address them. But until then, she had work to do and she loved the work she did for the Baron.

The majority of the time, she aided him as a secretary. Once he found out that she was capable of reading and writing nearly as well as him, he decided that she would be perfect to help him with his work. He invited her to join him in the spy networks, sorting through reports and such. She kept him a folder, much like her Mother's deputies did for her. She organized everything by urgency, type, and spy. She made it easier for George to work. And he hadn't questioned why she knew so much about spy work or of reading and writing.

Whenever she wasn't in her office, as he had given her the study adjoining his office, she was helping the women sew or cook or helping the Lioness prepare medicines. In fact, she had begun lessons with the Lioness in basic medical care. That way, June would always be able to take care of things in the infirmary if Alanna wasn't about. It wouldn't do to pull the lady out of whatever she was doing every time someone got a cut or broke an arm.

And June had plenty of time to explore the lands surrounding Pirate's Swoop. She'd taken the time to meet many of the animals in the woods near the castle. Any time she had off, she usually spent it running in the woods with the wolves. It wasn't quite the same as running in the jungle on the Isles, but it was close enough.

On those days, June wore her hair down in the raka fashion, but otherwise, she learned to pin it up away from her face in the Tortallan fashion. She felt a bit like her mother whenever she did that.

"June?" George knocked on her door, calling to her.

"Yes sir?" She asked, pulling the door open a crack, hitching the robe closer around her body. She was dressed, but barely, wearing nothing but a man's shirt, which is what she slept in.

"I've got a few reports if you could go through them today. Then you can take the rest of the day off, okay? I've got some business to care for in the village today. Alanna should be in her infirmary with Sir Nealan working on some advanced healing, so don't bother her today unless you want to be bitten or have your ears talked off. The family will have dinner together and you are expected to be there."

"Yes sir." June smiled, nodding her head. She loved it when there was no work for her. It gave her some time to visit the woods. Maybe today she would speak to the crows. After all, it had been a very long time since she had a conversation with one of her people. She missed home and this would help ease that pang. And plus, whenever the family had meals together, it meant that George had brought in some entertainers, tumblers and sort. And there would be pies. Apple pies with whipped cream, her favorite luarin dessert. George nodded and went away as she eased the door shut and turned to find something to wear.

She dressed in a green and brown sarong, so she would be comfortable and wouldn't need to change later. She ran a brush though her hair to work out the knots and began to fix her hair in the raka fashion, taking care to secure her feather tightly with the leather thongs and wooden beads. It had been a long time since she made the change into a crow and she wasn't sure if it was safe for her to do so in Tortall. She didn't want to lose what was possibly the only feathers she would molt in a long time.

She went immediately to her office and worked quickly and diligently through the small stack of reports and left the organized folder on George's desk before heading in search of a breakfast.

"Hello, Hanna." June greeted the cook cheerfully as she invaded the cold store, finding some hardboiled eggs and cheese. She fashioned herself a bite to eat and packed some rolls stuffed with ham for her trip. Then she invaded the dried fruit store and helped herself to a little sack of dried cherries. She wanted to have a gift for the crows when she greeted them.

When June left the castle, she made sure she took along her gaudy necklace, which had been a gift from her father. He had won it in a gamble with the Trickster during the Queen's war. Her mother really hated that necklace for its loud colors. June liked that it was so shiny.

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She was careful, walking into the woods as not to disturb the animals in their business. When she reached the large oak tree that she knew to be the home of many crows, she tipped her head back and gave a call that rivaled only her father's crow-speak. She made the sound for "friend" and proceeded to create the clicks and caws that would inform the crows that she was an ally from the Isles, a fledgling that was lonely.

Immediately, three crows took flight and landed before her, cocking their heads to the sound as they tried to determine if she spoke truth. She smiled and reached a hand out, opening her palm to present her gift of dried fruit.

"Hello. My name is June. How are you?" She spoke softly in crow-speak, mindful not to frighten anyone. She giggled as a crow hopped to her shoulder and began to preen her hair as her flock mates in Rajmuat and Tanair did.

The crows replied, asking her why she chose to take a two-legger form. And why she didn't revert back to her true form and fly with them. As tempting as that request sounded, June had to decline explaining that she was half-human and she usually spent her time as a two-legger. She couldn't make the change because someone would see her and she couldn't risk that.

She sat, leaning against the tree as the crows went about their business, stopping every so often to speak to her. It was nice. Just like at home with her flock mates. These Tortallan crows had even taken to calling her a flock mate, inviting her into their flock. They all took a moment to admire her multi-colored necklace; all calling their envy that they had not gotten one as well.

She was deep in a conversation with a few nestlings about the crows in Tanair when she realized so wasn't alone. She was on her feet with two daggers in her hands before the intruders had a chance to blink. She would protect her flock mates no matter what.

"You do that very well." The woman said, taking a step forward with an outreached hand. A crow somewhere in the distance gave a raucous bawl, greeting the woman and the man behind her as two-legger flock mates like June.

"Do what?" June demanded, narrowing her eyes, moving her body into a better position for defending herself and her friends. There was something about this woman that terrified June, but she wasn't quite sure she knew what it was. "And who are you?"

"Crow-speak. I haven't heard anyone speak it as well as you outside of my family. This is my son, Rikash." The woman indicated with a jerk of her head. She took another step forward, lowering herself to the ground, still reaching towards the nestlings. She glanced up, locking eyes with June. "My name is Daine. Veralidaine Salmalin."


	3. Like A Daughter

**Title**: A Crow's Place

**Author**: icebyrd67

**Rating**: PG for some violence and possibly language

**Disclaimer**: This story is based off of books written by Tamora Pierce, so people and places belong to her. The only things I own are June and the plot.

**Summary**: In tradition of her family, Aly begins to hound her daughter, Junai to find her place in the world. Too bad the place Aly wants her to take isn't what June wants. And too bad Aly never bothered to tell June the truth about her past.

**Chapter Three: Like A Daughter**

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"Do you have wild magic? Who are you?" The woman, Daine, said as the nestlings hopped over to her, pecking affectionately at her fingers, a sign of trust from the birds. That worried June a little.

"I am called Junai." June answered, lowering her weapons a bit. If the crows trusted these people, she would have to as well. At least until they gave her a reason not to. Slowly, she replaced the knives into their sheaths in her sash. She would still be able to reach them very quickly if the need arise. And she had a few more knives hidden away in her sarong and in sheaths lying flat against her arms. "What is wild magic?"

"The ability to communicate with animals. A type of magic. There are several forms of wild magic, from specialized animals such as horses or cats to broad wild magic that covers all animals." The man answered, plopping himself down in the ground next to the crows, revealing a fist full of dried cherries. "You've got the Gift that's for sure. I'm not sure of wild magic though, Mother. I can't sense that. She has the Sight as well. That's quite rare, isn't it?"

"How do you know so much about me?" June said, watching him, quite intrigued by the man. Rikash, Daine had said his name was. He was quite handsome. Not like the men back home. Oh, they were all right, she supposed, but they didn't have anything compared to this man. He had the look of a man who knew what he wanted to be in life, not a boy who pretended to be a man like the boys at home. The little lordlings who were thrown into their roles in life. She liked that look of his.

"I can see magic." He answered, nonchalantly, as if his gift was something everyone possessed. "Something I inherited from my parents' strange hybrid genes bred into me. It seems to work." He grinned, catching her eyes with his as he lounged casually on the ground. "You've got the Gift from your parents?"

"No. My parents are both without." She told him, ignoring the woman. Daine didn't seem too dangerous that she required June full attention. The man, Rikash, on the other hand, seemed to have a bit of a dangerous quality about himself. Like a big jungle cat ready to pounce. Like her father did. If he wasn't a crow, that is.

"From your grandparents then. How is it that you do not have wild magic, yet you speak to crows?" He asked, leaning towards her. "Junai is your name, yes? You must be the girl that George was speaking of. June. From the Copper Isles. Where do you come by your Sight?" He asked question after question, not pausing for her to answer. She was getting quite dizzy trying to keep up.

"Oh, don't bother trying, my dear." Daine said, getting to her feet. "You'll only give yourself a headache trying to keep up with my boy. Come. It is past midday and I am almost quite sure you haven't eaten yet. We can continue this conversation later, after a meal. We can also discuss times for our lessons." June's eyes grew as big as saucers at the idea of lessons with this woman she did not know.

"Um, lessons? What are you talking about?"

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"Sir, what of the newest shipment?" The man, a pockmarked, tattooed man muttered quietly to his master as they sat before the fire in a pub, warming their hands on mugs of warm ale. "Shall we go ahead and move it north? We have the cover of the clouds tonight."

"Yes. Take care of this shipment. It is the utmost importance that everything arrive unscathed. If I receive another shipment of damaged goods, I shall take it out of you in blood. Do you understand?" The master, an icily handsome, clean shaven man, spoke in a soft educated voice that promised every bit of malice it dripped. The sound was enough to cause the other man to shudder in his boots.

"Yes sir, milord. I understand." The man stuttered, quivering in terror. His master was the type that would kill anyone who messed up once. There was no second chance with him really. Unless he really needed you alive.

"Good." His master said. They sat in silence for a moment before the master spoke again, his voice cold with distaste and hatred. "Why are you still in my presence?"

"I'm going, milord." The man stumbled from his chair and practically ran from the pub.

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"So I take it you have met Daine and Rikash?" George asked, not looking up from his papers when June barged into his office, propping clenched fists on either hip, glaring at him. "You know, if looks can kill, I would probably be sitting beside the Black God now." He sighed when she did not speak and laid his papers down, looking up at her.

"Lessons? You've called Lady Daine down from Corus to give me lessons?" June yelled, outraged at the idea. She did not want to be wasting her time in lessons every single day. George was her master, not her father. He had no right t arrange for her to have lessons.

"You don't understand the situation, June. I've asked Daine to help you control your magic a little bit better. I need to you have complete control over them before I send you to Corus. I've got work for you, but only if you can control that magic of yours. I know you can control your Sight, but I have yet to see you control your magic completely. And I know you've got a gift with animals. Daine can help you with that as well. She is the Wild Mage, after all. And her husband is Numair, the black robe. He can help as well. It would do you great good to study with them. It is a rare chance to do so."

"Daine and Numair know nothing of me. They know nothing of my situation! How are they to help me control my powers if they do not know me? I don't care how rare the chance happens to be. And I don't need help with my relationship with animals. I've got it completely under control. I am perfectly happy with my relationship with the animals. We are good! George, you are not my father! Do not presume to take that position in my life. I have a father and I came to Tortall to get away from him!"

"My dear—" George started, but stopped when June raised a finger.

"Do not "my dear" me, George." Her voice was now cold. "I respect you and I am grateful to you for all you have done for me, but this is something I will not allow. I will not condone this behavior. This is the last conversation we will have on this matter." June turned around and stormed out of the room.

"She's a bit like her mother isn't she?" The Lioness stepped into the room, staring after June as she turned the corner. Alanna smiled, sitting on the corner of George's desk. George grinned and took his wife's hand, tangling his fingers with hers.

"Actually, I think she is a bit like her grandmother." He pressed his lips to her fingers. "A lioness protecting her cubs or herself. I am proud of the girl. She has grown to be a fine woman, just like Aly."

"Perhaps a bit too much like Alianne. Perhaps we should consider allowing Rikash to talk her about. Daine said that they had made a connection in the woods. It would seem that Rikash intrigues our girl. Although I am unsure of whether to encourage this match or not. Aly says that she wishes June to marry into the Isles. I wonder how June feels about that."

"We know how June feels. June feels like she should run away before Aly forces her to do something. I only wish I could get those two to sit down and talk. It isn't fair that they are both so unhappy." George sighed. "And that they are both so stubborn. Sometimes I wonder how Nawat does it. Having to deal with both of them every single day."

"Well, he is crow. I'd expect that he escapes to the sky on a regular basis. I have always wondered if June can change as well. I mean like her father does."

"I don't know. Maybe she will tell us one day. As for the other matter, I'll speak to Rikash later. Perhaps after dinner."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I cannot believe the nerve of that man!" June raged, hurling a book at the wall before upending the chairs of her living quarters. "Acting as if he is my father! Ordering me to take lessons! How dare he!" She threw yet another object at the wall, taking twisted pleasure in the satisfying shatter it created. A soft knock on the door interrupted her anger. "What?" She snarled, pulling the door open to reveal the very young man who intrigued her so. "Can I help you?" She asked, civilly, fighting to regain her control although she was still angry enough to whip up the breeze coming in through the window into a miniature tornado in her room.

"Might I have a word with you?" He asked, peering into her room to survey the damage. With a flick of his hand, he quelled the tornado before he pushed pass the girl to intrude into her home. "This is quite a mess you've made." He commented, straightening the chairs. He redirected the breeze that had once been a tornado to sweep together the bits of parchment and glass. "You know, George is only trying to do what's right by you."

"He's trying to treat as his daughter and I do not appreciate that of him." June answered clenching her fists so tightly; they turned white. "He has no right."

"Aye. He is trying to treat you as a daughter. But perhaps the reason he does so is because he sees you as a daughter. Or rather, at his age, a granddaughter. Did you not think of that?" Rikash asked, raising his brow at her. She didn't answer. "I thought not."

"Why do you care?" She snapped, redirecting her wrath towards him. Because he was right and she didn't have a reason to by mad at George for trying to help her. "You don't even know me."

"I care because I have to." Rikash gave her a faint smile. "Because if I don't, then I will never get the chance to get to know you like I know we are fated to. I care because if you agree to these lessons, you will be taking them with me, thus ensuring that we are friends, thus ensuring that the visions I have come true."

"What?" June stared at him as if he were mad. What in the world was he talking about?

"Lady Junai, I am a seer. Do not ask me how or why, but I am a seer. I can see the future in my dreams, when I scry, when I look into the eyes of a person. When I looked into your eyes, I saw something that I desperately want to come true. Do you understand what I am saying? Because my mother is half-goddess, because my grandparents are gods, and because my father is the strongest mage alive, I was born with abilities that have never been seen. Such as seeing the future and seeing the types of magic a person holds. I can see magic."

"Okay. So you can see the future. What is this thing that you so desperately want to come true?" She raised her brow, challenging his self-acclaimed abilities.

"That, Lady Junai—" He took one of her hands in his and kissed it lightly with a player's look of love. "I cannot tell. For if I tell, the future will not come to be." He grinned mischievously and swept out of the room, leaving June to simply stare after him.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The man crept silently up to the door and knocked softly, barely touching the wood. There was a muffled scrape of metal and a pair of eyes appeared between the bars. The man outside the door held up his finger, indicating he held three of whatever it was he transported and the door pulled open, revealing a rather dank and dark hallway.

"Quickly. Before anyone sees you." The man who was behind the door waved the transporter into the castle, glancing around to make sure no one saw. "How many do you bring?"

"Three wagon-loads. The master will be happy with this haul. It was a bit easier than normal with the Wild Mage being gone. And she took that get of hers with her. No worrying that someone will see what we plan. Help me get them inside." He jabbed his crook into one of the bundles that moved too slowly.

A little squeak of pain was emitted from the bundle before he jabbed it again, forcing it into silence. After a few moments, the three wagons were unloaded and the packages moved down the main stairs onto the floor below where they would be stored in a large room until someone was ready to purchase them.

These children were a bit younger than the previous loads, the eldest being no more than twelve. Last time, the majority of the package was at least ten. This time, they were mostly eight and under with a few exceptions. They were a pretty bunch. They would sell well.

The prettier ones would be sold into families who desperately wanted children. Those who weren't would be sold to ill-reputable houses where they would work as play-toys until they were too old or too ugly. And the uglier ones would be sold into labor slavery. The lucky ones were the prettiest ones.

They would be sold as soon as the master found the buyers he wanted. Until then, the Tortallan-born children would be held captive in the belowground chambers.


End file.
